Conventionally, there have been known electronic cameras that pick up monitor images at high frame rate and, in response to a release operation by a photographer, perform still image pickup at high resolution.
By the way, electronic cameras of this kind typically perform signal processing on a still image (such as tone conversion, color interpolation, and image compression) with priority, immediately after a still image is picked up.
When still image processing is thus performed by priority, the time before checking the monitor of the still image signal can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, image compression is started quickly to ease the memory size of the image data, so that there is an advantageous effect that there can be increase in the number of possible exposures when continuously shooting.
While performing such still image processing, however, it was a necessity to stop picking up the monitor image or stop processing the monitor signal. Because of that, there have been problems of the monitor display being interrupted, or control operations of electronic cameras that use monitor images (such as focus control) being interrupted.
Such interruptions have caused a time lag such that the focus control of the electronic camera is exercised again, producing the adverse effect of delaying the next monitor display and still image pickup. Recently in particular, the foregoing adverse effect has had a propensity to grow in influence because the processing time of still images is on the increase due to electronic cameras having higher resolutions.